Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, talks with Pomona College assistant professor of politics Amanda Hollis-Brusky at Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont campus on Thursday. She also led a class for about 30 students on campus.

Sonia Sotomayor, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, engages in conversation with Pomona College assistant professor of politics Amanda Hollis-Brusky at Bridges Auditorium at the Claremont campus on Thursday. Sotomayor also led a class for 30 students on campus.

CLAREMONT >> It’s not every day that you can say a sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice is leading your class — but for a select few at Pomona College that’s exactly what happened Thursday.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor held what could be described as a master class for about 30 students from the college prior to her speaking engagement at Bridges Auditorium.

Sophomore Teofanny Saragi was among the students who got to be in the classroom with Sotomayor.

“(She’s) kind of like a role model, but even more personal than that. She’s a reflection of how far you can make it, and how far you can use institutions to your advantage to be able to leverage your identity as a person of color,” she said.

In her autobiography, “My Beloved World,” Sotomayor is candid about her experiences growing up in Bronx, New York, and her challenges at home and how that related to her ambitious aspirations with school and her career.

“As a low-income, first-generation student I was particularly invested in her story and also as someone who is also interested in public policy,” said Saragi, a double major, studying public policy analysis with a concentration on sociology and Asian American studies.

Sonia Marton, 21, a senior studying Politics and French, said she was pleased to hear Sotomayor was visiting her campus but also making an effort to connect with today’s youth.

“It’s really important to promote political activism, which a lot of people say is lacking in the millennial generation,” she said.

Reading her story, Marton said she connected with Sotomayor in many ways.

“I really appreciated how candid she was and (how) driven she was and how capable she is — it made me feel like the Constitution is in good hands.”

When Ohio native Sarah Binau told friends and family this summer she was attending Pomona College, one of the first things she also mentioned was Sotomayor’s pending visit to her campus.

Sotomayor’s “My Beloved World” was selected as this summer’s reading for Pomona’s incoming first-year students, which included Binau.

“She’s making these radical statement and she challenges the institutions — directly or indirectly. That’s really awesome to have her here,” she said.

Binau said she found Sotomayor’s accounts in the book to be very relateable.

“You don’t need to be a low-income student to understand what it’s like to be facing an obstacle or being in a place and not knowing you belong there,” she said. “You see these public figures and every one has a personal story.”